One question I get asked a lot while filming Sourlands is about my camera – “Is that a video camera?”

The reason this question gets asked is that the camera – a Panasonic GH2 – looks exactly like a digital photo camera. And it is. It’s a hybrid that takes both photos and videos.

One of the most exciting things to happen to independent filmmakers in a long time started about three years ago, when the first Digital Single-Lens Reflex (DSLRs) photography cameras were designed to include video features. I’ll spare you the technical details, but the reason this was so exciting is because these cameras have the ability to create images that rival Hollywood film cameras, something traditional video cameras can’t come close to.

However… there were also big limitations to using DSLRs for video. One example is that the cameras would overheat and turn off in the middle of a scene. There were many other problems as well.

The Panasonic GH2 was released about a year ago and is something of a compromise between the video cameras of old (which have small sensors) and the newest DLSRs (which have huge sensors.) The sensor of the GH2 is big enough to blow the video cameras away, but small enough that it avoids many of the problems the DLSRs have. It is, in essence, the middle way.

The GH2 is still not perfect, and it isn’t the camera I would use if money were no object (then it would be a camera called the Panasonic AF100), but I have to say the GH2 has been a wonderful tool for capturing the beauty of the Sourlands. The images look fantastic, and it’s so small and portable you can run around and make a documentary and go pretty much unnoticed.

Camera technology is in an era of incredibly rapid change. This coming November 3 is going to be a particularly interesting day (at least if, like me, digital cinema cameras excite you.) Two companies -- Canon and Red –- are each slated to make big announcements about their newest large sensor cameras, and the rumor is that they might even be affordable.

Next week, though, I’ll write about tripods. Although cameras often get all the attention, somebody smart once observed, “Cameras come and go, but tripods are forever.”